Reawakend Demons
by Lightnin Spark
Summary: During a mission and an explosion gone wrong, Tony Stark finds himself trapped inside a cave again. But being wounded, hungry, and lonely wasn't really the problem; it was the memories that were stirred awake by the caves striking similarity with one in Afghanistan. With the aid of Bruce, Pepper, and Steve, can he manage to recover a second time? Not if Loki has any say...
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One**

**A Predicament**

**...**

The world had suddenly gone black. Why had that become more and more of an occurring thing? It wasn't like normal people experienced this on a regular basis—but then again, a man with an arc reactor embedded into his chest wasn't really considered normal, was he?

Something in his ear was coughing; the type of coughing, he identified, that if you would've heard them at a restaurant, you'd be rushing over to perform the Heimlich maneuver. There were people screaming in the distance, too, cries of terror and pain that shook him down to his core—that was also beginning to be something more normal than not, but he wouldn't tell. And then there was static every second or two. Tons of static.

"Stark! Come in, Stark!" The voice was pretty familiar in some strange mix of comfort and annoyance. In between words he seemed to struggle for breath, continuing to gasp. Something was obviously wrong—well more wrong than attempting to dismantle a bomb that was seconds from exploding. The fact was obvious because he himself was in pain. Where and exactly why escaped him.

"Come on… Stark!"

_Ah, that would be… the one with the patriotic frisbe—yeah, Capsicle. That's the one, _Tony Stark finally concluded. He knew he should be answering, but for some reason, he just seemed too far away. As if they were separated by a clouding fog that numbed his senses. And he hated when that happened.

The words and coughing continued to ring in his ears, persisting in getting an answer out of him, nagging at his senses like Pepper trying to get him out of bed. "Stark, I know you can hear me. Come in! You better say something or… or else… J-just answer, Stark!"

Tony was beginning to realize he _could _answer. But he could feel the gross, chalk-like dust on his face along with little bits of rubble and then there was that agony radiating from his lower body. His mouth seemed to be covered in a layer of this dry and tasteless stuff, making the texture near close to sandpaper. And yet somehow, he found himself mumbling weakly, "Of all the people to be caught on the wrong side of the wall… it _had _to be me, didn't it? Out of four other people, of course it was going to be..."

Steve seemed to be quite relaxed at the sound of a response, for a sigh made its way into the Iron Man's ear. With another round of crackling, the leader's voice broke through again, "Just stay calm, alright? Where are y—"

"Mm… Me s-stay calm?" The billionaire chuckled best he could manage, despite the horrible shock of pain that went through his legs and his stomach as he did so. But then again, it sounded like the Captain needed to relax a bit. "Who's the one freaking out now?"

Turns out he wasn't in the mood to have the mood lightened at all, instead responding flatly, "Banner actually."

"Oh… well," Tony responded, shakily, feeling slightly awkward. Even as he could feel another wave of hurt run through his limbs, he asked faintly, "All green and everything?" After all, weren't they trying _not _to make a mess this mission? Or was that yesterday's…?

"Natasha is calming him down, but that's not the point. Now, where are you?" Steve assured him hurriedly, before forcing his way back to the matter at hand. There was something in his voice; a kind of concern that normally wasn't there. Tony decided he didn't like it, but decided replying quickly would be the best way to make it leave his voice.

"Inside the cavern still. Where are _you_?"

As he said this, he made a feeble attempt at opening his eye lids. This was pretty stupid to do with a whole mess of ruble and debris on your face, and he quickly learned this as it hit his eyes. Flinching a bit, he tried to blink it away, realizing that all he was seeing was darkness. _Wait… are those florescent lights behind me?_

"I'm at the entrance with everyone else, Stark. The whole passageway came down on us when we were running out of there. You said you had the explosion handled!"

Ah, that was enough to make him remember.

Hammer had gotten a hold of some of _his _weapons, again. (Why did that man have to keep coming up on the radar? He truly wasn't even much of a threat… without any explosives, that is.) Of course, Tony was immediately filled with the rage and guilt that tormented him every other week and didn't need to be sent by Fury to go stop any harm from befalling anyone. The rest of the gang was sent along to help him, the situation being unknown. Well, save for Thor, who was still in Asgard.

Eventually they had traced a Stark Industries bomb to some underground cave once used as a mine. It just so happened that there was a small convention built on top of the caverns, and to add to the excitement, it was full of people—including the state senator.

The two agents, scientist, captain and iron man followed orders, sneaking in, taking out the numerous guards, etc. You know— the normal stuff. In the end they had gotten to bottom of the large maze of tunnels to find a large supply of Stark explosives rigged to explode on a timer. Classic.

Naturally, Dr. Banner (in scientist form) and Tony were sent to dismantle it while everyone else took down the surrounding guards. Naturally, they didn't have any time to properly make sure that the bomb would shut off. Naturally, sacrifices had to be made.

He told them it was fine, that he could simply hit it with his repulsor and cause it to turn off, then fly up to meet them at the entrance. It was a lie of course, but they were running out of time, and before Bruce could reveal this fact, another round of guards had come. Tony sent the rest of the team off and managed to redirect the explosion so that the only damage it would cause was to his own self, a willing soldier protected in armor. Of course, he didn't intend for the whole cave to collapse.

"No… nobody got hurt right? The people are safe?" He croaked, now attempting to move his head to the side, thankful to see that he could. Well it definitely ached, but that wasn't the main point here.

After another round of coughing, Steve spoke again, as if irritated, "They're fine—oblivious even to the whole thing. But the problem is you aren't, Stark, you sound injured." Even more static interrupted each word he said, not to mention the loud stomping in the background that could only come from one person. "Oh great… Hold on one minute—"

"HULK SMASH CAVE ROCKS!"

Static, then stomping, followed by more static.

"Natasha—" Steve started, seemingly even more worried.

Another familiar voice spoke up from the background, "I'm working on it."

Whilst this was going on, Tony truly was tempted to crack a joke, or even chuckle, but he found himself unable to. True, his stomach and legs hurt like hell, but there was something wrong about this cave of which was quickly coming into focus. He couldn't place it; only knowing that it was stirring something inside of him and he didn't like it. He wanted out. "You there, Cap?"

After a moment, the bad signal kicked back in again, "Yes, sorry. Stark, are you hurt?"

"Uh yeah," The billionaire replied, risking a glance towards his lower half buried in rock. Vainly attempting to push himself out, he replied through gritted teeth, "Can't really get you any really better descriptions than a whole bunch of rock fell on me. Since I'm in the suit, I'll live, so don't freak out just yet… The problem is some of the metal is bent inwards, crushing my legs… or at least it feels like that." Proof immediately presented itself as he attempted this, sending a shot of agony through his body as he tried to move. _Bad idea. I should probably wait for help, _he thought, trying to settle back into his uncomfortable position on the ground.

"What happened?"

Tony tried to dismiss his alarm, though he was beginning to feel the pain getting to him. "I'm fine, I'm fine…. Just get me out of here, please."

The team leader seemed to struggle with a proper response to this, contemplating an answer for a moment or two. "If Banner was around, I'd get him to give you advice—in medical terms," he replied, sounding as if he was thinking of something to say that would help him, "But well… you know. Just hold tight. Fury should be bringing the Helicarrier soon, and we'll find some way to get you out of there."

The iron man sighed. In the back of his mind, he knew that it was going to take a while, and he hated waiting. A lot. The fact that he could practically feel the suit beginning to break his left leg didn't help at all, not to mention a very strong sense of being in the same location before… _Crap. _

"Stars and stripes, do you have a, uh, time estimate for when I'm going to get out of here," Tony asked, feeling a strong sense of nausea as a memories began flooding the vision of his mind's eye. He could practically see the cot in the corner; the table of the Mark I plans… Yinsen making tea.

A ear piercing beep filled his sensitive hearing, causing him to wince, lifting his free arm to remove the small chip. However, he was quickly stopped as more static replaced the sound, "Stark—I can't hear you. What did you say?"

_No, no, no. This is a bad time to walk out on me Captain! _"When exactly is help going to get here?" He asked, all humor and sarcasm completely disappearing from his tone.

"Stark? This radio's going crazy here! Natasha!"

_Crackling, beeping…_

"Damn it!" Tony felt a tingle in the back of his neck as panic slowly began to sink in. Trying to press buttons on his ear piece with his metal fingers, he tried to listen for a voice over the static. "Cap? Steve, come in. Steve!"

He paused a moment, glad to find that the ear piece went silent; a sign that someone on the other line was going to speak. But then nothing happened… And then a minute passed, followed by another.

No, he didn't want to be left in a cave that looked so much like one that he knew was still in Afghanistan, especially alone with nothing to do but let his mind wander. It was like falling asleep after a traumatizing experience; you just knew what you'd have a dream about—or in this case, you'd just know what memories would plague you which would probably end up causing nightmares as well. And on the subject of bad dreams, well, it wasn't as if he didn't have enough of those already.

"Please, someone…" The self-proclaimed genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist moaned, throwing his head back, helmet retracted.

He was met with cold, hard quite, of whom he had a feeling he was going to make a very close acquaintance with shortly.

"JARVIS?" Tony tried, now running out of options.

The AI didn't respond, probably because the whole suit had lost power.

"So you're not going to talk to me either? How kind of you…"

He let out a long, heavy sigh, looking forwards once again to rest his chin on the metal surface of his chest. After a couple minutes of simply staring at the rock wall, he decided lying idle was boring. Hurting himself—no, getting out was much more entertaining. Putting his free hand on the uneven floor beneath him, Tony threw his body forwards best he could, pushing down. This movement sent the topmost rocks tumbling towards his head as his arm gave out. And with a loud crash, he was down once again, a good deal more in pain than he was before.

It was quite easy to see that the next couple hours, were going to be incredibly long. And really, a couple of hours was probably the _best_ case senario...

* * *

**Up Next:**

**-Tony faces his inner demons in regards of the events in Afghanistan**

**-Bruce Banner, no longer Hulk, makes an appearance**

* * *

**Thank you to Ruby River for helping me develope this idea- at a water park :)**

**So yeah, that's the first chapter! Hope you liked it, more is soon to come! Reviews are really appreciated, as is critique. Thank you in advance.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

**Faces in the Water**

**...**

_His wrists were tightly bound behind his back so that the blood flow practically stopped. The twine seemed to dig its rough surface into his flesh that was already too scraped up. In short: it hurt. For some reason, he was becoming increasingly used to the sensation. Of course, this didn't make it any better._

_The worst part was that he knew he had been there before. No, it wasn't just a bit of d__é__j__à__ vous— he had really been in this situation; standing in front of a very unclean looking tub of water, bound, and surrounded by dark silhouettes. Even though he couldn't see their faces, he could feel their stares on the back of his neck that made him inwardly shudder. But that truly wasn't even the worse part, because he knew exactly what was going to happen._

_A cold, chilling laughter filled the dark space, full of a spine tingling sense of amusement. It was also pretty familiar, but not in the same situation. Still, it managed to make everything all the creepier as it bounced off the walls all around. It seemed to have him surrounded as well._

_Tony didn't care that he was surrounded by terrorists. The voice laughing was much too familiar to ignore, and far too spine tingling to tell him that it meant nothing. He looked around the cavern (at least, that's what it seemed like), trying to find the source while looking as discreet as possible. However, this seemed to get him nowhere, instead finding himself calling, "Who's there? Hello?" _

_Actually, scratch that— He did care that he was surrounded by terrorists, or at least he should have. Why? Because one promptly shoved him closer towards the tub of water with his gun, probably leaving a nice bruise on his back._

_Just as the echoing chuckling stopped, a cool, thin voice broke the heavy air. Whispering like a snake, it commanded with a sense of foreboding, "Run. Escape this fate…"_

_He didn't need to be told twice, looking desperately for any way to run out. As he shifted his weight to look behind him, the iron man went to lift up his feet only to find that he couldn't. "What the…?" With another try, he got the same result. Running a hand through his hair, he muttered to himself, "No, no, no… this isn't right at all."_

_Without warning, his shoulders were grasped with freezing cold hands, digging their nails into his skin. Tony couldn't help but let out a stifled cry, nearly jumping from where we was stuck as he felt warm liquid trailing down his arms. Another hand latched itself to the base of his skull, grabbing a couple of his dark brown locks for good measure. They wrenched his head backwards, and the billionaire was almost sure that he heard several bones cracking. And then, without another word, he was shoved underwater. _

_There were leaches, or slugs— something slimy in the water, attaching their selves to his bare skin, immediately; pinching, biting, sucking the life out of him. Naturally, he began yelling best he could until he didn't have enough air. Not having gotten a proper breath when he was able to get oxygen didn't help either, and within seconds his lungs were burning. _

_And then all of a sudden, a horribly familiar voice broke through the water to pound in his ears, "Those are your weapons... in the hands of those murderers! Is this what you want? Is this what you wish the legacy of the great Tony Stark to be?"_

Wait, was that… Yinsen?

_His head was pulled out of the pool, suddenly. Tony instinctively found himself gasping desperately for air, twisting like a fish out of water to escape the grasp of the men holding him down. This quickly proved quite futile, only earning him several punches which shut him up considerably for the time being. _

"_You let him die, you know, Stark." It was the icy voice again, slowing down his thoughts and covering the space in a green mist, "You could've stopped him; you could've made sure he lived!"_

_Something churned uncomfortably within the man's core, whether from guilt or fear, he couldn't tell. Was it because the voice was right? It was all such a long time ago—well perhaps if he had refused to let him go sacrifice himself like an idiot, or if he started the computer a bit earlier he wouldn't have had to in the first place. Maybe he could've…_

_Before he could give much thought to the subject, the cool surface of water broke upon his face, splattering on his cheeks. This time he put up much more of a fight, jostling his shoulders back and forth to try and free the hands grabbing him. This time he was scared, this time it hurt. The leaches were on his face now, proceeding to climb towards his mouth as he sputtered and yelled only to be muffled through the liquid. _

_Just as the thought that perhaps he wasn't getting out of this one began to sink in like a weight, he opened his eyes under the green-tinted water. He was surprised to see that a face staring back at his; familiar eyes watching him from behind circular glasses and furrowed grey eyebrows. But they weren't… well, normal. The older man looked pained, struggling to hold his breath and his expression clenched tightly. But then his mouth opened, and for some reason, words were getting through, but they didn't sound right. _

"_Why didn't you stop me?"_

_Tony searched for a way to respond, finding something catch in his throat. However, when he tried to say something, it only escaped in a variety of bubbles, floating up towards the surface. _

_Yinsen didn't seem to see him, his eyes gazing off somewhere distant. And then suddenly, his face relaxed completely. His lips opened, as well as his eyes, and green and gold slugs crawled out immediately afterwards._

_Something within the iron man seemed to snap at that moment and his attempts at escaping became more desperate. But the arms weren't holding him anymore. He was drowning, and the eerily familiar voice kept laughing. _

_He was drowning. _

"T-Tony? Are you there? Your radio— it just turned on for some reason. Tony?"

"Help… me… S-so sorry…" _He was falling, deep inside a vortex of swirling water and guilt. There was no one to help him, not even a way to communicate to someone; not even Pepper. He was going to die._

"Is that you Tony? We're trying to help, Fury's here now and, uh—"

_There were screaming voices, hands reaching and grabbing to pull him down. He started yelling too in the vain hope that someone would see, even though he had no idea where they would come from. Still, he soon realized that the screams came easily, because he was truly terrified. He didn't want it to end this way. _"Ahhh… AHHH! PLEASE!"

"TONY!"

…

The iron man was breathing heavy, ragged breaths, ones that racked his body beyond his control. Frantically, his eyes opened to the dimly lighted space around him. He didn't recognize the orange-colored rocks that seemed so close to devouring his body, a huge mound already crushing him. There was a horrible agonizing pain coming from his lower half, and he didn't know why for a long, long moment that threatened to tear him apart. Nothing made sense, everything didn't add up: he was in his suit, in a collapsed cave, and didn't seem to be hung over. The cause being a party was immediately crossed out of the list.

A thick layer of sweat covered his forehead, a combination from the heat and from whatever horrible images he had thought up in his head. Everything still remained circulated in his head, laughing and screaming and reminding him. He wanted something to eat, a bathroom, a heavy lifting team, and even a whole team of medics, but he didn't want to be taken on this ride all over again.

The events which had transpired in the cave were put to rest a year ago, and Tony prayed that things would stay that way. It wasn't as if his dreams about flying through portals in outer space weren't bad enough, but now he was to deal with the death of a best friend, a man he looked up to, a man he owed his life to. And not only that, but the guilt as well. _No, no, I can't do this… I can't! Ugh…_

And then a gentle, familiar voice spoke into his ear, "Are you alright…? Are you _there_?"

"Oh. Oh… _oh_ my god..." Tony exhaled deeply, trying his best to sit up. Relief was flooding his system, and only because of the naïve comforts of a friend's voice. Even if he didn't know what was going on at the present, he knew that things hadn't completely gone to hell if Bruce was still in contact with him. At least he had a hope.

Shakily bringing a metal gloved hand to his ear to find the radio chip, he asked in a voice just above a whisper, "Is that you, green guy?"

After a brief break of empty silence, and a small spot of static, Dr. Banner's voice broke through, "When Steve lost connection with you I thought that we'd lost you. That didn't stop me from trying to get your signal back though. Thank whatever force for keeping your ear piece alive."

He sounded equally relieved, even as what sounded like a whole bunch of tools fell off a table. Tony did his best to hum a response, unable to form a sentence with his dry throat. Thankfully, Bruce didn't seem to mind, and after a moment of silence, he managed to get himself to speak up again. "Are… are you okay? You we're, uh, screaming, and I—"

"I was screaming?" The billionaire interrupted him suddenly, not knowing if it was embarrassment or curiosity. Of course he had suspected the fact; after all, he had woken up Pepper because of it several times. The team didn't know of course, unless they had put that in the files as well…

The socially awkward science answered after a pause, honestly, "…Yeah. Were you being crushed?"

"No, um, just a bad dream, sorry," Tony stuttered slightly, feeling a bit self-conscious. A certain red-headed PA was really the only person who knew about the night terrors that would plague him for weeks on end. It wasn't a very masculine thing to admit, but then again, when you were trapped in a desperate situation, most people normally forgave you for those types of things.

"Don't be sorry," Bruce didn't seem to mind, thankfully. Answering somewhat bitterly, he explained, "I understand—well, you know; I'm not a stranger to nightmares either."

Feeling a bit more relaxed, he found himself answering in the same dark tone as he attempted to look at how bad his injuries seemed to be, "They're really something..."

"Well I guess you could put it that way, huh?" Static quickly followed as it seemed like the scientist bent down to pick up whatever he had accidentally knocked on the ground. The billionaire silently prayed that they didn't lose connection.

"I guess," Tony replied with the best shrug he could manage. Trying to joke, as if it would make him feel a bit better, he said a bit lighter, "Those better not be my things that you're breaking while I'm not around.

Bruce took this the wrong way of course, the static ending as he stood up, "I won't pry, if you don't want— I apologize."

Inwardly sighing, he tried to reassure his friend, "No, no, it's alright. I haven't heard anyone's voice in like a day, so it's a relief to have someone to talk to." _Especially when you were beginning to wonder if you ever would again_, he added mentally, in truth being very lonely until falling asleep some time ago.

"'Fraid it's only been, um, eight hours." _No, not good. Damn it! _

Tony couldn't help moaning in disappointment like a child, "Ughhhh… I'm going to die down here…"

"I'm not sure—well, I don't think it's the best situation to say that." Bruce cautioned, quietly as another round of static interrupted their conversation. It drew him on edge, like the crackling was a warning that their signal would go out. When it returned however, the iron man was able to catch footsteps in the background, retreating. With a cough, the scientist said, "Fury needs me to transmit your signal to the Helicarrier so they can track your location."

"Awww… He always likes to spoil the parties," Tony responded in a fake whining voice, though due to all the grievous burning from his legs, it didn't seem quite so comedic. The fact that he was now worrying he wouldn't get to speak to anyone ever again also didn't help. _Pull yourself together Stark._

Tentatively, he began, "Can you do me a favor, Brucey?"

"Don't call me that."

"Fine, alright, alright." He let out a pained chuckle that he quickly regretted. After a deep breath, he continued, "Just… um, don't let me stay alone down here for too long."

There was a long pause before Bruce answered, "I'll do my best." It was sincere, and reassuring.

"Promise?" Tony asked jokingly.

His friends answer was completely honest though, as if he knew that the billionaire was secretly scared, "Of course."

* * *

**Gotta love the science bros, right?**

**Free cyber cookies for reviews! Thank you in advance ;)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter Three**

**Voices in the Dark**

**. . .**

Tony Stark waited for several minutes before he felt worry beginning to crack into his system once again. And yes, he hated to admit it.

It was a stupid thing, like believing something would absolutely come out of his closet and attack him if his mother wasn't in the room. But the problem was that he had actually _seen _the beast; the thing that (in a sense) would take him if he allowed it to. It was in his mind though, and not in a scary film his father should've turned off the television. He was perfectly aware that Bruce couldn't protect him from the said monster whilst above a tunnel lined with collapsed rock. He could only distract him from dwelling on the creature, and he had several minutes ago. But now he was temporarily sending the signal to Fury, and unable to provide the safety, leaving Tony in the haunting silence by himself.

There was the fact that his perception of time wasn't the clearest underground, only basing his guesses off his gut feeling. This was quite a difficult thing to do when one was near dying to eat a hamburger (or really anything for the matter), get a nice drink of water, and well… relieve himself. Then again, it wasn't as if he hadn't done so upon other occasions. True, though, it wasn't the best if you were to be stuck in one place for a while, and it was beginning to look as if he would.

Attempting to get his mind wandering elsewhere, he decided looking about the small place was a good place to start. Really there wasn't much to see, but he realized that he never had gotten a proper look at his surroundings after the explosion. Perhaps a more highly trained S.H.E.I.L.D. member would've done this a lot earlier, but it wasn't as if it changed anything, now did it?

The one florescent light strung up behind his head somewhere cast a dim light around the red-tinted walls, making them seem somewhat brown. Small parts of the ceiling were still at their normal eight-foot height, but most had crumpled down to make a small cave like space; confined and tight. Upon the uneven ground, chips and such were strewn, with medium suitcase sized rocks scattered and just missing his head and arms. But then there was the matter of what actually hit and lay on top of him.

In the middle of the ceiling, the walls seemed to come down upon him. Rocks the size of a bedside table spilled on top of his lower torso, and onto his legs, crushing them at very uncomfortable angles. The pile was also complete with several smaller pieces, and one that even seemed to be relatively similar to a cabinet in scope.

_My god… can't believe the suit survived this much weight, _he thought, feeling a sharp numbness surrounding his abdomen. And then it struck him: If the suit weakened over time, under the weight, would he be able to breath?

"You poor, stupid fool. Quite a pitiful way for a man of iron to die…"

Tony couldn't help his body responding in a shudder at the surprising return of the voice from his nightmare. An icy shot of fear shot through his spine, causing him to desperately attempt to turn his head to inspect the whole area completely. It only hit him once again once he had realized that no one was there beside himself. He was alone.

"What the hell?" The man muttered to himself under his breath. _I couldn't have fallen asleep—I'm still here after all. I'm probably going insane. About time, so it seems. _

But he couldn't have been crazy, because the chilling voice returned just as creepy as it had come. Echoing off every wall, it filled the small space around him, "So alone, filled with so much pain…"

"Bruce? Please be there, please," Tony found himself speaking to the ear piece, beginning to feel his blood running cold and the hairs upon the back of his neck stand on end. However, at the same time, he continued to speak in his mind, _Keep your cool. Remember, it hasn't even been 12 hours—half a day. It's all in your head, it can't do anything. _

Finding that no one was answering, he flung his arm back onto the ground, "That's it! I'm completely and totally mental!"

Just to prove his point, the voice didn't even respond. His own words bounced right back at him, but somehow sounding a bit demented. Or perhaps that wasn't the best way to describe it. It seemed wrong, and that was the only way to put it. Of course, it was only after that when the unnerving chuckling reached his hearing, "You let your friends feed you a false hope of regaining your freedom, of regaining the guarantee you'll survive. But they're all wrong. You don't stand a chance of escaping this with your life."

_Why on earth would I even think up such a strange thing in my subconscious? _The billionaire thought, attempting once again to look behind him, straining his eyes to try to search the shadows. But there was no place anyone could wedge their selves into that would allow them to speak so clearly. So naturally, responding to the words seemed like the best test to see if this was truly going on in some unknown, twisted part of his brain.

"I don't know what I've been smoking to hear this, but who are you?" Tony asked timidly, feeling a strange mix of fear and stupidity. After all, he was most likely talking to himself. No, correction: he _hoped _he was talking to himself.

The strange voice seemed to snort in response, causing the one florescent light flickered dangerously as he did so, "Why you already know, you imbecile. Your lack of water and oxygen must be affecting your memory… Shame those two things are the key to your survival."

After this final thought, the whole cavern went completely black. It left the man in slight shock for a moment before filling him with a sense of helplessness and a steadily growing panic. _Shit! No, no, no... The lights can't go out, they just can't. _

"Shut up, will you?" The billionaire snapped to the dust filled air, beginning to get annoyed with the persons words. Taking a deep breath, he continued steadily, "Now I'm going to ask one more time—"

"Or what? You can't threaten me," The voice pointed out with a sneer, followed by more laughing. It then proceeded with a strange sense of delight, "For all to your knowledge, I'm simply an allusion; false. I'm thin air that you'll never be able to catch, despite how you try—water, slipping right through your fingers. You, on the other hand, appear to be caught under the weight of boulders upon boulders. Ever so slowly, the gleaming armor you wear so arrogantly and abuse without thought will be the thing to slowly squeeze the life right out of you. And eventually, the things you have influenced onto those surrounding you will finally sink in to leave you alone in the dark. Then, well… you'll drown."

Tony knew that he had heard a similar voice, but whenever he tried to remember, a fog seemed to slow his thoughts. One thing he did know, however, was that the words were beginning to seep in, almost becoming menacing. This was because of the haunting truth that the person held. After all, he _would _have all the air squashed out of him if he wasn't reached in time. And then— No. Thinking about that wasn't helping his situation at all.

"Kindly go gag yourself and stand in the corner over there. You're giving me a headache…" He said, trying to sidetrack his own thought pattern. _Think of stupid nicknames for this guy. Think of Pepper—Yeah, Peps… I'll be back soon; I'll be with Pepper in a couple of hours. We can order pizza, watch a movie…_

Of course, as he was just about to start calming down, the voice returned. This time, though, it was simply flat with a looming quality to it. "You'll regret that request, you realize."

Tony found himself sighing in frustration, his hand landing on the stone floor with a metallic _clank_. "Actually, I don't give a damn care. Now shut up, okay?" He replied strongly, his own voice bouncing off the wall in front of him and returning just as it came.

He waited a second or two for the person to respond in some manner; any at all. But there was nothing, only the dead silence he was beginning to come so accustomed to.

After what he supposed was five minutes or so (It was probably only two. Two hour meetings felt like a whole day) he forced himself to pick up his free arm to put a hand to his fairly damaged ear piece. Pressing down on the tiny button, he was met with static once again.

"Bruce? Green guy? …Fury? Cap?" He called out; loosing hope with each name he tried. Every team mate seemed to only succeed in beating down upon his already weathered inner strength, causing him to almost shrink. In the end, he gave up with a tired groan, confused as to how he should feel.

A part of him wished to surrender to sleep, again risking having another nightmare. In fact, he _knew _it would strike him. Of course, it wasn't too bad and he would get over it. But the other part of him continued to beg him to stay withstanding and waiting for Bruce's voice speaking in his ear. Patience wasn't a strong suit of Mr. Starks though, and he didn't want to stand the darkness for longer than he needed to.

_Perhaps I'll wait for a bit longer—just a bit. In the end I'll probably just pass out, _he decided, attempting to settle into a more comfortable position. Well, as comfortable as one could be crushed under a collapsed bunch of rocks. _Wonderful. Absolutely wonderful._

He was just about to begin humming his favorite Aerosmith song, when a very quiet echo began somewhere behind him. It seemed to rumble a bit, getting louder and louder with each passing second until the painfully familiar voice was audible.

"…Stark? Please, Stark…"

_No, I have to be dreaming. He isn't here. Yinsen is NOT here, he isn't and he can't be. It isn't real, _he repeated in his mind. Tony Stark wasn't going to let himself fall to this allusion a second a time, no matter how much it seemed to pull at the snapping strings within his core. Despite the way his voice sent horrible tingles down his spine, he would remember that it wasn't real. Even though his voice sounded so pained, so weak, he wouldn't crumple.

"H-help me, please… Stark, they're here. They're coming f-for me." Yinsen's voice begged.

_Focus, focus. He isn't here, the terrorists aren't here either, _The billionaire reminded himself. His fingers were twitching now no matter how hard he tried to control them. _Stay withstanding, close it out. Stop, thinking like this!_

"They're coming; they're going to be here soon… Please Stark, please…."

"S-stop," Tony choked out, now clenching his hands into fists. "You aren't real."

And then the sound of a gun fire shot rang through the cavern. The iron man's body went completely ridged, and his eyes flew open even in the pitch blackness. A sharp cry echoed through the cave quickly after; one that seemed to strike him, and this time, land a painful blow.

But that wasn't the end of it. The shot was followed by another. And then another...

. . .

"Tony, come in. Tony...? My god- Tony, answer me!" Bruce yelled through the microphone set up inside one of the Helicarrier's many labs, safely landed near the tunnel's entrance. He frantically spoke right into the small chip, messing with different colored wires and typing on a see-through screen as he did so.

And why shouldn't he be panicking? His best friend was yelling terrified apologies and some other incoherent words on the other side, his voice sharp, strained and shaking, sounding as if he was in some sort of a fit. While he didn't quite seem like he was screaming in agony, thankfully, it was quite clear something was very wrong. Only problem was, there was no way to figure out what was going on, or how to help him.

Natasha and Clint assisted him best they could, their movements just as rushed as the scientist's. While both their faces were straight, as usual, it was easy to see the tenseness that surrounded their bodies and movements. This, along with the concerned way that their eyes stared at the speakers, gave away their true feelings to the matter.

Steve stood behind the small group, looking helplessly at the technology he so desperately wished he understood. While he was learning, he knew he would only succeed in getting in the way if he offered to step in, and thus, didn't. Still, it only made him feel even more powerless over the situation.

But he wasn't the only one feeling that way. In fact, the whole room was beginning to think similar thoughts as the painful seconds drew by ever so slowly. It wasn't until the signal was suddenly cut off that they actually registered it though.

The cries were silenced, leaving the room barren of sound save for Bruce's steps as he near flew towards another screen.

"Tony! Come in, please..." He attempted, his voice faltering and thin from yelling. But nothing answered back, just as he has expected, and just as it would for what would seem like a very long time.

* * *

**Sorry this took so long to update. I had a crazy week full of operations, and camps from 9:00 AM to 7:30 PM (never doing that again...) So as you can imagine, it was hard to find time to write. But anyways, hope you enjoyed this chapter! Look for the next update around Friday or Saturday next week.  
**

**So if you would please direct your attention to the small box below, I would love if you would click on it. Critique, criticisms, comments... all welcome! Thank you in advance :)  
**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four**

**Shocked**

**. . .**

Tony made the stupid mistake of thinking that he was then safe. While he was in the dark still, he could tell he was sleeping (or, of course, out cold), safely tucked into the corner of his best part of the fact was that he was actually aware that he was dreaming. This meant he could control the nightmares, or at least bend them enough so that they couldn't hurt him. Perhaps he could even manage them enough to dwell on something much more pleasant and even take him out of this misery he was experiencing.

But then he realized that he was in a pool, the arc reactor in his chest being the only light in what seemed was a vast lake of some sort. The man of iron was only able to see the blue-tinted white reflected on water's surface that dully lapped against his half submerged shoulders. His feet reached down to find and surface to rest upon, but only finding more freezing water and gross, sticky tentacle-like weeds swaying with the very small current. He didn't like the look of this at all.

Thankfully, he didn't have to stay—well not if he didn't want to.

_Think of Malibu, think of the beach,_ he told himself as calmly as possible. _Think of the sand, the water, that towel you always end up using, even though it's stained with wine from that party… Come on concentrate! Just change the location, damn it!_

After a second or two, he thought he could feel the warm cotton beneath him, seeing the bright sun in the perfectly blue sky. Somehow though, he couldn't quite grasp it, though, despite his attempt at grabbing for it. As the seconds trickled by, he quickly became frustrated; knowing that what looked like another bad dream could possibly be escaped. However, he simply seemed stuck, a green mist separating him from his desired location like a glass barrier. _No, no, no. I gotta get out of here…_

"I'm sure you regret those words, don't you?"

No, this was even worse. The voice only meant bad things, and this time hardly seemed like any exception.

"Oh, you again…" Tony found himself saying sarcastically, as if to help himself. And with some sheer amount of luck, it seemed to boost his bravery just a bit—well, enough to keep him speaking in the same tone. "I don't appreciate when you enter my mind, whoever you are. Actually, I'd prefer if showed yourself the door—do peoples brain's even have doors?"

It seemed as if the voice wasn't very pleased at all, for two of the seaweed strands wrapped around his feet tightly. Very tightly, in fact, making the billionaire wonder if plants were even supposed to be that strong. Either way, he found himself trying to escape in an instant.

"It's a funny thing, hmm? Regret, that is. It's quite similar to guilt, I find, the two often going hand and hand. Both are there in your thoughts; like the regret you feel that you didn't get to talk to a Pepper Potts before leaving your home today or the guilt you feel towards not being able to eat dinner with her tonight." He seemed to pause, allowing the words to sink in right like he wanted. Tony quickly began to feel the frustration that his comment actually landed on its mark.

Yes, he _did_ stupidly make a dinner date with Pepper before going off on his mission. Of course, it was looking as of late that he wouldn't be on time—as if that hadn't happened before. He stopped himself from getting remorseful of the fact, knowing it would only give this annoying man more pleasure.

"But memories—yes, there are hundreds of instances." He drawled out the last words with a quiet glee, enjoying another pause. "One of the most prominent was allowing your friend to risk his neck for your sake and not even making an attempt at stopping him—"

Tony decided that he was quite tired of this, letting his hands splash against the water's surface to prove the point. Even he could realize that the repetition was beating down upon his barriers, and the fact only proceeded to frustrate him even more. Regaining a nonchalant quality to his tone, he turned his head to look up at the black ceiling. "Alright, alright, you've made your point quite clear. Everyone here is impressed; you've convinced me that I'm insane, congrats. There, you did it. Happy now?"

As if he hadn't even uttered a word, the voice continued at the taunting words, "There was so much you could've done, and yet you didn't somehow. He could've been by your side only moments ago, but you made a different choice. That choice has lead you here, has lead you to the person you are today; arrogant, rude, vain, ungrateful… a disgrace."

Without warning, the image of Howard Stark looking down angrily at his son rippled through the water. The face was enough to make Tony jump back (as best as he could, submerged in water) in surprise. It only took him a second to register the image, cuing the memories back into his stream of thoughts.

_"I told you to stay out of here when I'm working!" He bellowed, gesturing towards the open door and back towards the little boy looking up at him with wide, chestnut eyes. Only one step towards the toddler was enough to make him start crying._

"Listen," Tony did his best to shove the emotions aside, though quite shaken and doubting his ability to do so. In fact, the passed hours had only seemed to teach him that he was bad at such a seemingly easy task. "What the hell do you want? You obviously aren't very happy..."

The water rippled as the chilling laughter returned and echoed through the enclosed space, causing the image to disappear into a blur. After a moment, only the arc reactor's reflection was left. "What do I want?" The person asked himself before chortling a bit, "Well, a great many things, _Mr. Stark_."

Even though he didn't enjoy the sound of whatever the voice was thinking, he offered anyways, now desperate to just get out. "I can do my best to see that you—"

"No you won't," The eerie echoes answered for him, knowingly. "Even you're aware of that. You'll simply get one of your employees to do it for you, without thinking for as much as a second. And in case you were wondering, which I know you are, I won't tell you what I want. You see, it'll be a complete waste of time."

"I'm not worth it then? You hurt me," The billionaire replied on impulse, putting a hand to were his heart was. However, when he did so, he could feel the glass casing of the reactor on his chest... And a large crack on it. His heart beat continued to speed up at a faster rate, _Shit. Electronics plus water, equals... lots of frying._

"You won't remember anything I have said to you once you wake up. I might as well save my energy for later," The voice explained lazily, as of almost bored. Though as the water seemed to start spinning around Tony's legs, he began to think it was more of a distracted tone instead.

He did his best to keep the glowing circle on his chest as far away from the splashing as possible, but his arms were growing tired. His thighs were already in pain from the struggling as well as trying to keep him above water, but the feeling (well, up until now) was mostly numb. The only thing that kept him from plunging under was the knowledge that if he did... well bad things would happen. What things, precisely? He had no idea, for whenever he had gone swimming or taken a shower even, the glass was firmly sealed and the metal safely contact. One thing was certain though, this wasn't the proper time to experiment.

"Oh goody..." He said sarcastically, his breathing ragged from the work and his nerves.

As the turning waters became stronger, so did the crashing of the waves against unseen walls. The iron man was now beginning to twist in a dizzying cycle, tangling his feet in the seaweed. However, the voice gladly continued to speak, "But for now, I believe I'm going to enjoy the time I have right now…"

Not even a second after the last word was uttered, a loud crack came from his chest. Tony's chin immediately came down so he could look at whatever had just happened. He was met with the sight of shards of glass in the murky water and several frames from the reactor lacking a protecting shield. _How the hell did it just break like that? Of course now at all times!_ He reasoned, panic returning strongly.

It was after that thought when the rope-like binds on his feet seemed to gain even more strength, and in one swift movement, pulled his body fully underwater. He wasn't in much of a position to fight, but found himself trying to reach for the surface anyhow. This was quite a stupid move, for it continued to pull away from his fingers and beyond the length of his arm.

Like the wires attached to the car battery years ago, he could feel the machine inside of him spark. What followed after though, was an electric shock that sent burning agony through his torso and out to his limbs. His vision was over come with white for a second as he let out a loud scream of bubbles that freely escaped to the air above.

_"Tony! Please!"_ A voice yelled in his ear as he tried to wrench his feet away from the vines. The sound caused him to clench up not only because of its desperation and fear, but because it sounded an awful lot like Pepper. Probably because it was Pepper.

No, not Pepper. Yinsen was pushing it, his father was even worse, but to hurt Pepper... That was too many damn steps too far. They couldn't touch a single hair Pepper while he was still drawing breath, and he had promised himself that much. He wouldn't allow it.

With a loud cry, he gathered all his strength urgently, and kicked with all his might to the surface. But sheer power of will seemed to do nothing, and the little amount of energy left within him didn't have enough power to let him break free. That wouldn't stop him from trying as desperately as he was able to.

Another shock of burning electricity struck him suddenly, and after his body went spastic, he found his arms and legs to be was only then that he was able to see her lifeless body floating down in front of him, her red hair concealing her features. Her delicate palm was pale white, and deathly cold when Tony felt his fingers brush against hers. Almost in shock, he attempted to hold her hand as she drifted by, but found he couldn't. The tentacles were pulling him down farther.

He couldn't breathe.

He couldn't think.

He was drowning.

...

_"Fury, sir?"_

_"Come in, Rogers!"_

_ "We need some medics down here, fast. Stark's in a critical condition, and screaming something terrible... I'm afraid he doesn't have much time."_

_"I'm on it. Keep an eye on him, and keep Hulk far away from him."_

_"Yes, sir."_

_"Hang tight, they're on their way."_

_"It's not me you should be telling that to..."_

* * *

**_Thank you to everyone's awesome reviews and for adding this fic to their favorites or alerts ;) I really appreciate it! Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next week, find out how the team reacts. Appearances include: the whole team, Pepper... Should be fun ;)_**

**_Comments? Criticisms? Thoughts? Click below:)_**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter Five**

**Lost**

**. . .**

"Reality is merely an illusion, although a very persistent one" –Albert Einstein

**. . .**

When Tony awoke or became conscious again (he truly couldn't tell which) he was aware that the over powering pain in his legs had subsided, and nothing extremely heavy was sitting atop them. He could actually breathe; in and out without his diaphragm feeling as if at any second it would give in and become crushed. Something numbingly caused all of this to subside, making his whole body feel heavy, as well as his eyelids.

In fact, after several seconds, he was able to realize that he wasn't even wearing the suit anymore. The leather padding on the inside of the armor was replaced with what felt was cotton, and even… gauze? It gently wrapped around his limbs, and the fabric kept him covered, replacing the chilling coolness of the cave. Wait—did that mean he wasn't there anymore?

Moments continued to pass as the man attempted to solve this mystery before he was aware that someone was holding his hand, tightly. Delicate, long fingers closed around his worn, cut ones, refusing to budge. Only one person in the world would ever do something like that, and yet, he couldn't bring his self to believe it. Everything was simply too perfect.

A sudden beeping interrupted his thoughts before he could dwell on the subject too much. He didn't know where it came from, or what it meant, but for some reason, he felt his whole body jolt awake. He needed answers now, and his rather sluggish state wasn't about to stop him.

His vision instantly became blinded by white lights in the ceiling, causing him to cringe and land right back on to the rather stiff pillow he was laying on. The silver walls and glass door did little to help the glare all around, but truly, those were the only things he could make out at the moment. A sudden tilting of the space didn't help him to recover very much either, though.

"Oh my god—" A comfortingly familiar voice exclaimed, the hand letting go of his grasp and disappearing. However, the tiny reminder of a small second of sound was enough to remind him exactly who this person was.

The room beginning to refocus, the iron man couldn't help but calling out with a quiet, hoarse voice, "Peps… P-Pepper?" His words surely cracked when he spoke, but they were relieved all the same. Some would even say over joyed. Of course, he was much more focused on the fact that he sounded so _weak._ Even if she wasn't really there, he didn't want to sound like this.

Apparently, his PA didn't mind at all. "Yes, it's me. I'm here," Her quiet voice assured him softly, her delicate hand interlocking with his once again. She, herself, seemed to have been through quite a bit; her voice showing the signs that she had probably been crying. All the same, the billionaire couldn't help feeling instantly relieved. Mostly.

A long moment of silence passed where the two of them simply breathed in and out, Pepper pressing his calloused hand to her lips, and holding it there. He was back, he was safe, and he never had to go through that again. He should be incredibly thankful to whatever god that he was lying next to the woman he loved, both of them in one piece. Things looked like they were going to be alright (after some intense medical attention, of course) and things were going to go back to the way they were, and should be… And yet it didn't seem _right_.

Any moment, everything could dissolve and turn into a tub of water, his head being pressed under while who knows what would begin happening. Yinsen would die again, and again, and again. Or Pepper. Or anyone else he held dear. He could never be safe, not when everything could spiral down into the hell he knew would come and take him again. No, it _would_ come and get him. But when would the voice decide this fake reality was ready to collapse?

"Why… Why did you do that?" Pepper Potts's voice brought him out of his troubled whirlpool of thoughts and fears, her gaze catching his as she leaned over him in the hospital bed. Now it was quite obvious that she had been crying, for her blue eyes were tinted red from the tears.

_Is this… is this real? If it isn't, I shouldn't answer, right? _Tony's slow mind questioned, however, he knew that he really would. Dream or not, he might as well enjoy his time with her while he could. "Steve… he told you?" He asked, words somewhat muddled from the anesthetics.

She nodded her head slightly, lowering his hand as she bit her bottom lip.

"And I thought you were the one who said I lacked dedication," The iron man did his best to joke, going even so far as to try and put on a pained smile, exhaling loudly. Pepper simply gave him _that _look, shaking her head at his pitiful attempt. He understood quickly, still trying to keep up his best grin, "Listen, I didn't plan for things to go that way, really, I promise."

"Then how exactly did you plan it to go?" She asked quietly, always the voice of reason he really should have for his own good. Unfortunately, he didn't function like that, but at least she knew that fact quite well.

_At least it's realistic, enough, _Tony thought slightly bitterly, though in all honesty, he liked her reprimanding. Sighing slightly, he carried his sarcastic tone, "Well for one, I didn't intend on getting stuck down in that hell hole for hours. Second, I didn't—"

"It's been forty hours Tony." Pepper interrupted him, sniffling slightly.

This caught him by surprise, his eyebrows rising just a bit. Making sure he heard her correctly, he turned onto his side before double checking, slowly, "I was down there for… two days?" _It was only eight hours when Bruce contacted me, I think. God, how long was I sleeping for? Am I still sleeping?_

His girlfriend nodded, squeezing his hand a bit, "Yes."

Even if this all was a lie, Tony couldn't ignore the weight of guilt that settled into his stomach. She always worried, whenever he went out on a mission, and just to add to that, he missed their date. Truth be told, it was a pretty good excuse, but the PA probably flew halfway across the city in such a panicked rush… "Peps, I'm so, so incredibly sorry to put you through that," he took a deep breath to begin planning the elaborate dinner date he would take her out to in some fancy roof top place in New York, but was silenced by her sigh.

"You're apologizing?" Pepper checked, a weary smile tugging at her lips. There was a heavy tone of disbelief in her voice, but the billionaire found he didn't mind quite so much, "_You_ are saying sorry, and you're the one on a god damn hospital bed? Oh, Tony..."

Attempting to try again, he simply shook his head at her comment, "I'll make up that date as soon as I get out of here. There's this really ni—"

"You don't need to—" The red head assured him, leaning closer to his bed.

Tony was surprised to find how much he believed everything was truly there, trying to tell himself to believe otherwise. Still, he persisted, all the same, "I mean it—"

"I know, that's very sweet of you, but let's just worry about the damage to your legs and your stomach." Pepper soothed, taking her other hand and brushing her fingers through his dark brown locks, brushing a stray strand back from his forehead. It was obvious she was quiet concerned, but was doing her best to comfort him after what he had been through, despite his attempts not to worry her by distracting the conversation.

Tentatively, he asked a question he hadn't really considered until the moment, "Are they... broken?"

Pepper sighed heavily, her faint smile disappearing without a trace. While this nearly answered his question, she went ahead to put her expression in words. "Bruce says they are."

"Dammit," Tony cursed immediately, wishing he had the strength to hit something hard. How could he fly if he was on crutches, much less fight? "Do they really think Iron Man is going to walk around in a cast for several weeks? Several weeks... God, I'm going to need to-" He was about to launch into a grand plan about how he was going to fix the suit over the weekend, but at Pepper's expression, he found himself pausing.

"You nearly died, Tony," She reminded him; pressing a kiss to his forehead in a smart attempt to keep him from attempting to leave the bed there and then (both of them knew he was thinking it). "As if flying around in that suit isn't risking your life…" She shook her head, sighing once again before bringing her head up to look him right in the eye. "But you were several hours away from being completely crushed!"

"It was that—"

But the man didn't get to ask his question for he was completely caught off guard. The words died within his throat, and his muscles quickly tightened. He, Tony Stark, was absolutely terrified. Why? That presence was there, within his brain, swimming through his thoughts. The green fog was clouding his mind's eye, making his skin freeze and his pulse race.

Somewhere distantly, Pepper tapped his forearm lightly, but he paid it no mind. The sensation was almost as if happening far away, and fading.

And then the voice was there, speaking over every passing thought and drowning out the surrounding noise. _"Hello Stark… You think you're quite smart to be questioning what your eyes are telling you, hmm? Fool…" _It continued to chuckle in a mocking fashion, it's thin, eerie voice echoing, and then repeating before it could die out.

"No..." Tony murmured to himself, thinking just as much. Distractedly pulling his hand from Pepper's grasp (and ignoring her confused gaze) he brought his hands up to cover his ears, but unfortunately it didn't stop the laughing. In fact, it only intensified. "No, no, no. Oh, god…"

After another second, Pepper decided she couldn't take this any longer; her boss and boyfriend acting like he was crazy... and near petrified. "Tony?"

_Get out of my head, get out! Leave me the hell alone! _

His head snapped in her direction in a panicked, desperate manner, his hands going several inches away from his ears. "You heard that, didn't you? You had to," The man's chest rose and fell, looking into her eyes, almost like a mad man.

The PA drew back slightly, beyond confused, and beginning to get scared as well. Out of all the things she had seen the billionaire go through, this had to be the absolute alarming thing she had ever seen him do. "I have no idea what you're talking about. What do you mean?"

The whole room seemed to tilt to the side, as the laughing seemed to stop. Instantly, though, the voice replaced it, _"I will never leave, Stark." _Just as he finished the last drawn-out syllable, a strong pain emitted from Tony's head in waves, causing him to completely turn onto his other side, clutching his head. It just wouldn't stop...

Before Pepper could begin truly freaking out, the transparent door to the room opened loudly, hitting the opposite side of the wall. What quickly followed was a rather disheveled looking Dr. Banner, his purple shirt untucked on one side, and his hair somewhat messy. "Ms. Potts I—" His words quickly stopped once he looked down to see a petrified appearing Tony, rocking back and forth with his hands clutching his head. "Oh..."

"What's going on?" Pepper asked urgently, standing up as the scientist entered the room. She looked frantically back down to the iron man, who sat straight up in the hospital bed.

Tony's back immediately screamed in protest, sending rivets of agony through his abdomen. He didn't mind; he couldn't. He just had to make it end, had to make it stop. Facing his best friend and science bro, he looked at the door madly. "Let me out of here, now. Now! Please, just let me go..."

"Tony, calm down," Pepper slowly put a hand on his shoulder, obviously getting more scared by the second. "You're going to hurt yourself."

_You don't understand, _he thought in raw fear, making an extremely painful attempt at swinging his legs over the side of the hospital bed. _You don't know what he'll do to you- you haven't seen what he has done to you! _"He's going to come back, he'll kill both of you—Let me go, Bruce!"

The scientist blocked the door, doing his best to gently keep his friend from hurting himself. Gesturing for Pepper to do the same, Bruce looked into his fearful eyes, "You're legs are _broken_, Tony. Just stay calm, everything is fine."

The voice decided he needed to add to this to, however, _"Yes, everything is fine, Stark…"_

Tony felt another shock of agony strike, his whole body going rigid. The pain in his legs was just too much. The voice wouldn't leave, he would never leave, and he would never be safe. He was a fool to ever believe that he was.

Falling limp in the grasp of Bruce and Pepper, he muttered, shaking his head, "N-no, no it isn't..."

* * *

**Comments? Critique? Reviews are much appreciated, thank you!  
**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

**Report**

**. . .**

Pepper had no idea how to react. One part of her felt—scratch that, actually. All of her was very, very worried.

Tony had now been reduced to an incoherent train of words, his hands covering his face and once in a while, combing through his hair. His whole body seemed to tremble, save for his legs, which were wrapped in seemingly hundreds of bandages and hooked up to several beeping machines. A noticeable sweat covered his forehead and hands, and his heavy breathing was clearly audible. The mechanism watching his heart rate proved his pulse was racing as well.

She had never seen him so… terrified, and this one fact was very alarming. While the genius appeared to be made of iron, the woman had first-hand experience that this fact wasn't true, even if he tried to hide the fact that sometimes he really was frightened. Despite how much he pretended not to be, he was a human just as everyone else. No one knew that more than his girlfriend.

A prime example of this was when he would have nightmares, yelling and such in his sleep. Said girlfriend would always be woken by this, and would always be there to sit and drink hot chocolate with him until morning. Then of course would be the breakdowns, and the long speeches about how he worried she would get hurt, etc. This, however, was a different thing entirely.

Bruce briefly caught her gaze from where he stood on the other side of the bed. He too seemed quite shaken, almost as if he wanted to say something. Though before either of them could speak, Tony's rough hand reached up and closed around Pepper's.

"Tony, talk to me. Tony—Tony, please," She desperately tried to find his chocolate eyes, but seemed to have no success. They were much too busy frantically scanning the room to lock with hers. "Can you hear me? Tony?"

After a moment, his body went completely still once again. His head turned towards the door sharply as he tried to push himself up onto his elbow. Bruce prevented him from doing so, holding him down as gently as he could manage.

"Get out of here!" Tony exclaimed, in response to this, as if realizing he couldn't possibly escape. Falling rather hard back into the pillow, he began to quake again, "He's gonna come back, he's going to kill both of you—everyone… again."

"It's no use," Bruce tried, quietly, growing increasing worried with all this talk of some going to kill them. It wasn't the most assuring thing to hear for sure. "He needs to be—"

"Who's _he_? Answer me, Anthony," Pepper persisted, leaning down so that they were at eye level. She held reassuringly onto his quivering hand, though to no avail, for he continued to squirm in the same manner as before. Though after holding her stare for several seconds, the man began to shake his head, eyes wide with terror.

Another long moment drew out before the scientist spoke up one again, tapping the PA on her shoulder to bring her attention from Tony. Gesturing to a machine behind her, he said quietly, "Pepper, I'm going to put him under."

Pepper sighed, still wanting to get an answer out of him. While she still knew that he would probably hurt himself if he was conscious for too much longer, it still disturbed her to see him this way without any explanation whatsoever. It didn't look like she was going to get one anyhow.

Bruce seemed to share this thought, "We won't get anything out of him in this state." He explained, his own expression quite tense with concern, "He seems to have gone into some sort of panicked hallucination. It could possibly be the drugs he's been under, but we can't have him like this. It's—it's, well, too risky to his condition, you see."

"Pepper… please…" The billionaire mumbled, his grasp weakening in her palm. All the stress and activity he was putting himself through seemed to be taking a toll on him, only proceeding in putting more panic into his eyes.

"It's ok, we're safe, alright? Just relax," She brushed a hand through his hair once again, resting it on his suddenly quite warm forehead. Finding herself sitting up a bit in preparation, she turned her attention to Bruce, "He has a temperature."

"God, Tony…" The scientist muttered, shaking his head as he stood up. He then proceeded towards the machine behind Pepper, unhooking a transparent gas mask connected with a tube. Holding it in one hand, Dr. Banner took a look at one of the glass screens on the wall, reading what looked to be some detailed statistics and codes.

After a moment of the iron man's incoherent murmurs, Pepper decided to step in, volunteering quietly, "What can I do?"

"Just keep him lying down, he's probably already caused enough damage to his legs," Bruce responded quickly, turning away from the screens. He carefully stepped beside where she sat, flipping several switches with his free hand.

Pepper nodded and gently placed her hands on her quaking boyfriend's shoulders, applying enough pressure to keep him lying down on the bed. He struggled only slightly, but then seemed to resign, only looking at her in a desperate and sad plea. What only remained of his resistance was one hand loosely holding onto the red head's delicate wrists. "You don't understand…" He shook his head in a small motion, his eyes glancing at the door once again.

"Tony, you're out of the cavern now. Things are going to be alright," The Hulk's alter ego assured his friend, placing the mask over his nose and mouth. There was something in his voice that made it seem as if he didn't believe it himself, but the billionaire seemed to be too distracted to pick it up.

In fact, after about thirty seconds, Tony Stark lay perfectly still on the hospital bed. Though his eyes were closed, his features were tense, his lips pulled into an almost grimace. His hand eventually slipped back onto the bed with a dull _thud_, as if a sign of defeat.

For some reason, Pepper was beginning to feel almost frightened herself. What would give the man such an idea that something was going to hurt them? He wasn't watching a horror movie (and even if he did, he would refuse to let anyone claim he was scared), he was in a cave by himself. It didn't add up. This thing had to be medical, right? But still, most scenarios didn't seem to make sense with such a reaction either. Hopefully a doctor would have a better idea—luckily enough, she sat right next to one.

After a long moment of heavy silence, of which both persons were deep in troubled though, the PA spoke up. "What's wrong with him?" She asked quietly, her voice interlaced with worry. However, she took some comfort in being with a close, even though rather new, friend.

Bruce had moved into Stark Tower shortly after the alien attack. While at first he was quite awkward around her and Tony, insisting that they were much too hospitable to allow him to stay in their fancy building, he eventually grew to be part of their strange family. He and Ms. Potts quickly grew to be quite close, the two people with more level-heads looking for a less ego-centric person to talk to.

At the moment, they shared a silent mutual understanding of concern towards the iron man as well as confusion. Still, the doctor tried his best to keep her assured, "I don't know— well, yet. He seems to have fallen into some sort of panicked state, but I need to do a couple tests before I can be sure of anything."

It wasn't the most comforting answer, but she gave him credit for trying. Stifling an exhausted yawn, she asked, "How long will that take?"

"Well, uh… awhile," Bruce answered reluctantly. At the sight of the lines under her eyes, he added as politely as possible, "I suggest you at least take a break; he'll be under for a bit, and honestly nothing exciting will be going on."

"All… alright," Pepper nodded, brushing her bangs out of her eyes. _He'll be fine, he's in good hands, _she told herself as she managed to get out of the chair next to the wheeled hospital bed. _There's paperwork you have to get to as well…_

Sensing that the woman wasn't completely sure about leaving her ex-boss, Dr. Banner continued, wringing his hands slightly, "We should get back to the base in a couple of hours. The S.H.E.I.L.D medics will be able to help him then, and he'll be able to get the surgery done on his legs.

But somehow, Pepper knew that his broken legs weren't the worse part of what he had experienced down in the cavern.

Still, she nodded, doing her best to give a small smile towards Bruce. He managed one in return with an equal amount of wariness. After walking quietly towards the door, she stopped with her hand on the handle. Turning over her shoulder, she spoke sincerely, "I really appreciate all you've done for him."

"It's, well, my job," Shrugged the scientist. Though after a moment's pause, he added in a tone to match her honesty, "But you know, he's my friend too… I'm just worried about the way he's been acting."

"Me too…" Pepper looked down at the shiny, grey tile floor, biting down on her bottom lip. She knew she was stalling, simply concerned about leaving Tony in such a way, at this exact time. _You're just tired, you need rest, _her mind told her. Eventually she gave in, bringing her head up, "Goodnight, Bruce."

He looked up from where he was typing into the screen, wearing a look of understanding, "Night."

_. . ._

The CEO of Stark Industries had only been walking down the hallway of the Hellicarrier for several minutes before a familiar man appeared around the corner, followed by two people dressed in S.H.E.I.L.D. uniform. However, the one in the lead seemed to dashing quite quickly to reach her. It wasn't long before he raised a hand in greeting, calling out, "Ms. Potts!"

Pepper stopped in her steps, watching as the worried man approached, soon able to tell that the man was none other than Captain America. With an exhale, her lips widened into a small, tired smile, "Steve, I told you, Pepper is fine."

"Oh, yes, sorry," He said, finally stopping in front of her, looking as if he had run through the whole craft to get to her. This was because he probably did. Looking over her shoulder, down towards the medical wing, he added expectantly, "We heard, um, Tony was awake." The expression on his face was enough to show he had been quite concerned for a while.

The smile on her face lessened, wishing she didn't have to give him another reason to fret, "He had to be put back under the anesthetics, sorry."

"No, don't be sorry. We can wait," Came the collected, smooth voice of Agent Romanoff as she and Agent Barton joined Steve, both wearing their set, passive looks. Putting a hand on her hip, she tilted her head slightly to the side, "Did Dr. Banner say anything?"

"He wouldn't allow us into the room until everything was in a more 'stable' condition," Clint explained.

In all honesty, Pepper wasn't quite in the mood to be discussing this. She needed some sleep, or at least a highly caffeinated coffee, or something to help her relax. True, it probably wouldn't work; her mind mostly being plagued by the sight of a lifeless Tony being pulled from the cavern's wreck, but talking about it didn't feel particularly easy at the moment. Searching for the right words and stalling at the same time, she crossed her arms and let her eyes trail to the side, "He's… uh…"

Natasha seemed to see right through her. "It's alright, Pepper. You can tell us."

She nodded after a moment, deciding not to elaborate on the whole _he's gonna kill you! _part, "Bruce said his legs needed to be operated on, and he needed to be checked more closely for internal organ damage."

"The monitor said he was awake," Captain Rogers pointed out, obviously wanting another answer. "Did he speak? How was he?"

_They deserve to know—they're his friends, mostly, _she told herself, wishing she could simply walk past them and pass out into a nice comfy bed. However, her answer certainly would earn quite a lot of questions, wouldn't it?

Quietly, Pepper responded with hesitation, "He was scared. Very scared… Tony just doesn't _do _that."

Steve's expression surely worsened, and even both agents seemed to show some concern at this remark. Before Clint could ask what she meant exactly, Nick Fury's voice came on the loudspeaker, echoing down the long silver hallways, "All Agents, please report to the main deck. Incoming signal from Asgard; I repeat, i coming signal from Asgard."

The four of them left without so much as a another word.

* * *

**Hmmm, who could it be? Loki? Thor? Find out in the next chapter!**

**Any artists out there? I'd really love if someone did a drawing for the fic, so if you want to, just go ahead and PM me. Thank you!**

**Again, thank you to everyone who reviewed! You make me very happy ;) Cyber cookies to everyone who does this chapter! I'd appreciate constructive criticism, or just what you liked about this chapter, anything that can help me improve.**

**So, if you would please press the button below...**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**Running Without Caffeine**

**. . .**

"Greetings friends, it brings me joy to see your faces again." Thor's hearty, booming voice echoed through the room's speakers, his face projected onto several screens. He seemed somewhat troubled despite his honest grin, which was uncommon for the normally pleasant god. And while the Avengers, along with the substitute of Pepper for Tony and the lack of Bruce, noted this, they were mostly glad to see their friend. Well, they _would _be if they weren't dwelling on the Iron Man's condition. Still, it was at least four months since they last had heard from him, and thus a welcome sight.

So yes, they were all more or less glad.

Except Fury. He was always much more interested in the "serious" business. His face was quite clear of any signs of joy or even relief, his foot tapping on the smooth floor in impatience. They were wasting time that could be spent much more efficiently, and every minute that passed in waste continued to vex him.

Steve, always being polite, responded with a small nod and a smile, "It's nice to hear from you. How have things been—" He was shortly cut off by their team leader, who did so without any hesitation.

"It's been quite a while since you last contacted us. I can't help but think something much be wrong, or do you plan on returning to earth?" The secretly dubbed S.H.E.I.L.D. pirate asked, crossing his arms. As his eyebrows furrowed as he waited for the response, the tapping noise his boot produced echoing around the smaller conference area.

Clint leant over towards Natasha, murmuring sideways, "He certainly doesn't wait to get to the point…" She hummed a quiet response, her eyes watching the two men the whole time.

"Yes, indeed there is something I must tell you, but first I must ask," Thor paused a moment, his eyes scanning the faces in the room from the screen he was shown on. After a second or two, his expression fell as if confused or disappointed. "There are members of our group absent from the table. Where be friends Stark and Bruce?"

For a moment, no one in the room spoke or even made a gesture. Fury's foot even stopped in its movements leaving an uncomfortably heavy silence in the room. Of course, it was only after Pepper crossed her legs once again that everyone's heads turned to stare at her, their eyes mirroring their thoughts.

_Come on, just say something, _her mind told her in annoyance as if she wasn't in a press conference and had just received a rather intrusive question about her and Tony. Of course, this instance wasn't nearly as pressuring, but slightly more difficult with her desperate need of sleep. "He went through, um…" She thought of the proper words, uncertain as to how the god would react. Out of all the team, she probably knew Thor the least, simply because he lived in a galaxy far, far away or something like that. The way he talked and acted made her think of something out of a renaissance festival, and while she found him extremely polite, it was somewhat strange. "There was an accident, and Bruce is currently helping him—"

"What? An accident?" He said, his voice gaining a loud, alarmed tone as if he was about to become quite angry or perhaps even simply rush down to earth. In fact, he seemed to stand up from where ever he was sitting so that his head completely went out of the frame of however he was communicating with the Hellicarrier.

Before Fury could say anything, the Stark Industries CEO beat him to it. Leaning forwards in her chair, she tried to calm him down with a raise of her hands, "He's going to be alright, don't worry, please. He's going to go through surgery, and after that he should be fine! I mean of course he's—" It was only after she realized how her voice had escalated in her growing fear that Pepper stopped the words that seemed to be coming forth from her mouth. _God, I must look like a nervous wreck to them, _she thought as she sat down, her face slightly more flushed.

Something within her kept exclaiming that something was horribly off with Tony's behavior, and that getting his bones pinned back into the correct position wouldn't cure that. It only continued to make her feel worse to think of how she had no clue as to what had caused him to go so crazy. It was an absolute fact that she was the only person to know nearly everything about the billionaire, and thus, shouldn't she be able to figure it out? Then why couldn't she?

After another long pause, of which everyone was staring at the redhead, Fury pulled everyone back into the current event. "Thor, things are fine. You don't need to be concerned," He said steadily and, as always, without recognizable emotion.

Thankfully, the god seemed to buy his words for after a moment of shifting on his feet. As he sat down, he took a deep breath as if to only proceed in filling the remaining motley crew with more anticipation. "I'll believe you," He managed, folding his arms over his chest once more.

Natasha sighed slightly from where she sat in the back, gaining a quick look from Steve. Fury's tapping began once again.

Thor gave another silent glance around the room once more before continuing in an almost painfully slow manner. "I have reached you because I believe Midgard is in danger. For my brother has managed to… escape his confinement. Knowing his ability to hold a grudge, Loki will mostly likely wish to extract revenge on you and your people."

Another drawn out moment of quiet filled the space of which everyone seemed to change positions in their chairs to stare at the screen with much more attention. There was also a feeling of weight to the air, a sense of dread or maybe one of "We have to do this all over again?" Of course, each person wasn't without their own sense of fear, for their selves, the team, and the majority of humanity. Not to mention the question of how the god would go about the business of stealing their triumph. They all knew how cunning he was, and that brute strength probably wouldn't be his first method of attack. But what was left to choose from though?

"We know that he hasn't journeyed towards Midgard yet, but he has the means of doing so," Thor finished, as if trying to fill the space with his voice as he waited for a proper reaction.

Pepper only needed to glance around at everyone's expressions once before everyone managed to digest the news.

"If I remember correctly, you told us that he would be secure wherever you locked him. How did this happen?" Fury's voice rose to a near yell, barking out each word with his anger quite apparent. Steve even seemed to wince, though he continued to look at the screen without failure, his folded hands tightening their grip. "Do you know what—"

"We did our utmost to keep him contained, I swear! He had help," Explained Thor loudly, the speakers crackling as his volume increased.

Clint, who now appeared to look rather shaken, craned his neck as he asked sharply, "From who?" The Black Widow discreetly put a hand on his arm under the table. He seemed to become less tense, locking eyes with her, but only in the slightest.

"Whom," The Captain corrected under his breath, though no one cared to notice.

Thor grimaced in reply, "We don't know. The only thing we were able to determine was that he was quite mighty. He had much power and was able to destroy our strongest defenses."

Fury let out an exasperated sigh and turned to Agent Hill, who was standing at the doorway the whole time. She exchanged a glance with him before he whispered a couple things to her. With a nod, she turned towards the door with a quickened step and a look of steady determination on her features. As the door closed behind her, the team leader returned back to where he stood in the room. "What course of action are you taking?"

And so began the long, tiresome talk of logistics and science in terms of tracking down or watching for signs of Loki's presence on earth or in space. Agents Romanoff and Barton looked as if they were listening to each and every word with perfect understanding, absorbing everything that was said by the other S.H.E.I.L.D. workers, sitting at several computers in front of the large screens and Fury continued to put in his input ever other second. However, Pepper and Steve sat dubiously, all the words and phrases bouncing off their ears and refusing to compute. The man out of his time was probably having even more difficulty, but still, both of the two had no clue as to what was being discussed.

_Tony would know, _The Stark CEO couldn't help but think in an almost side-note type of manner. In her defense, it was quite hard to think of anything else after what she had just witnessed. Well of course, when one's boyfriend was constantly so close to death one got about to worrying on a regular basis.

Feeling like she should go check on said Iron Man, Pepper tilted her head in the direction of the door, looking at Steve as if to ask if he would wish to join her. He shook his head, always the dedicated solider but managed a smile show that he felt it was fine if she took off. So with a nod, she did exactly that. After doing her best to push back her chair without making any noticeable noise, she walked to the door with the quiet clicking of her heels.

Pepper had only just heard the door locking itself and turned the corner when a figure approached her with speed. She felt her blood run cold for a moment before they made contact, sending her bumping into the wall and the other person hitting the one opposite to her with a _thud_.

However, before she could collect herself, a panicked though familiar voice quickly came up to her, "Ms. Potts! No, no, no, Pepper, sorry, I told you I wouldn't call you that anymore… Never mind. I'm so sorry, I didn't see you coming." Her eyes opened to meet the deeply apologetic brown ones of none other than Bruce Banner, who's palm was open in an offer to help her stand properly once again.

_Calm down, _she told herself mentally as she felt her pulse slow down to a more normal pace, _It's just Bruce, everything is alright; it's fine, ok? Wait. Why would he be so rushed if things weren't alright? _"Don't worry about it," She assured him, wishing her voice was more kind but due to her exhausted state and lack of caffeine.

"I feel awful about it," he admitted, his expression proving it.

Worrying that she was distracting him from something important, she put a hand on his shoulder in a rather quick manner, "I'll live— you just gave me a bit of a scare." He seemed to believe her this time, letting out a short, forced chuckle.

Forcing the question into the conversation, Pepper's lip tightened into a straight line, "What's wrong, Bruce? Did something show up in the tests, or did something go wrong? Is Tony alright?"

"Oh, no, nothing like that. He's more stable now, thankfully," the scientist comforted her quickly, his cheeks becoming less pink.

The redhead let out a held in breath of relief, feeling her shoulders become less tense, "Yes, thankfully…"

He nodded, humming a short answer of agreement, looking at the floor for a second. As he brought his head back up, he started ringing his hands slightly, "I'm really sorry to ask this of you, but I'm going to need your help—well, if you wouldn't mind coming back to the room with me."

Even though she felt as though she was about to pass out at the very moment, she forced herself to reply, "How can I help?" as she brushed her bangs out of her eyes.

"What do you know about Tony's time in Afghanistan?"

* * *

**I must apologize now in advance if my chapters take longer to come out. School started for me last week, and I've been getting A LOT of school work so far. Yes, I'd much rather be writing this than doing my homework. Still, no one bothers to hear my opinion...**

**Anyways, thank you to everyone who reviewed! You guys make me so happy!**

**-COMING NEXT WEEK-**

**~Returning back to Tony's POV! Yay!**

**Free cyber cookies for everyone who reviews! Constructive criticism is very appreciated ;)**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

**Signs of Cracks**

**. . .**

Contrary to Bruce's calculations and nearly everyone's expectations, Tony Stark was making a fast recovery. One operation and four days later, he was let out of the hospital in two casts on his legs and crutches (the doctor who put him in the things received a lot of angry words for doing so.) He and Pepper soon returned to Stark Tower with the rest of the team in order to keep a close eye on him and stay close if Fury needed them, or Loki decided to strike (a charming thing to think about constantly, right?) As Tony said, it was like one "gigantic sleepover!" Steve raised an eyebrow with clear confusion.

But even before that, the genius playboy was already back to his dirty and annoying jokes and heavy sarcasm. He seemed near completely unfazed by the situation, trying to constantly break out of the hospital when he was in it. It was a welcome comfort after the heavy panic and fear that had come with the collapse of the tunnels only five days ago, but for some reason, most everyone seemed to feel as if it was _too _fine. Still, there wasn't a word mentioned about it.

All the same, it didn't stop Pepper and Dr. Banner from giving each other looks every time the iron man seemed to be laughing for a bit longer than necessary, or checking over his shoulder more than usual. The fact that he seemed to be spending much less time around his fellow Avengers was also noticeable. They, of course, noted it as well, but decided to leave it in the more than capable hands of his "family members".

Between the two, this one fact was for certain: Something had to be wrong. The first time he woke up in the Hellicarrier was enough to prove that on its own.

Sideways mentions of the different behavior every morning at breakfast over coffee, or while trying to cure gamma radiation, or whilst going over the papers for Stark Industries were near useless. Tony seemed as if he didn't even hear them, of turn unusually distant and quiet. The more the scientist and the CEO brought it up, the more he seemed to spend time by his self.

They gave it a day or two before acting.

Pepper briefly keyed in the code to the science lab on the second floor of the penthouse, Bruce a bit behind her on the stairs. The plan was simple—using the power of two people to force him to open up, and trying to solve whatever problem together after that. Still, it was much easier said than done. She looked over her shoulder to meet Bruce's hesitant gaze, and then proceeding in taking a deep breath together in preparation of which he joined in as well. It wasn't going to be easy, and that was for sure. With Tony, it never was.

"It's Yinsen, isn't it?" The redhead burst the bubble as soon as she entered the cluttered lab, heels clicking and wearing a look of understanding.

The inventor at work seemed to go rigid from where he sat with his back turned towards them, but tried his best to cover it up as he made a sorry attempt at standing. "What?" He asked as if oblivious to whatever his girlfriend had just said, "I couldn't hear you over the sound of my struggle to move around in these damn casts."

As he wobbled slightly, his loyal assistant ran over as did his friend, both only pausing when he seemed to steady. However, quickly after, he turned his shoulder to her and went back to whatever device he was tinkering with. Perhaps if he was a bit stealthier, she wouldn't have noticed his failing expression.

Bruce sighed in slight exasperation, gesturing to his legs, "I told you you can't stand up while wearing those—more than ten times, I think."

"Seven," Tony corrected. His voice was an odd mixture of coldness and humor, quieter in nature. _The longer I get them to talk, the more time I have to get out of here, _he thought to himself, finding that he didn't want them to know. He truly didn't like pity (well when it came with presents…), or the continuation of reminders of the experience. Moving on without any mention of the occurrence would be fine with him. He could deal with his own feelings and his own nightmares, but with other people's concerns? Not so much.

"Look at me, please, Tony," Pepper said taking several steps towards him and putting a hand on his shoulder, almost as if a plea. Why did she have to guild him about this? It didn't help him at all—no, it only made it worse. "You've been acting funny, and Bruce and I both know something happened to you down in that cave." Seeing as how this tactic didn't work, for Stark was still looking at the small mechanism he was dissecting, she tried the more gentle approach just as he predicted, "I just want you to know that—"

"Define funny. Like hilarious, right? I always knew you liked my sense of humor," Tony smirked with a forced laugh, looking over his shoulder to see their reactions. For the record, he was quite disappointed.

Bruce awkwardly made his way a bit closer, looking at his friend as sternly as he could manage, "You're doing this again; avoiding answering the question."

"But you know I'm a part-time comedian, right?" He tried again, his tone beginning to falter as did his grin. _Why can't I pull this off when I need to? _He thought to himself, trying to work up the best mask for his expressions as possible.

"Tony…"Pepper said quietly, rubbing small circles on the bottom of his neck. Her blue eyes stared down at him in a mix of worry and care that made tugged at his heart (never to be admitted). "I want to help you."

Something in his words hitched, as he found he didn't know quite how to react or reply, "Peps, I…"

To be honest, he was scared. Not just scared, but terrified. He couldn't tell if he was a psycho, simply just disturbed or maybe just even experiencing some post dramatic stress. The voice was there though, when he least expected it, it would echo in his ears with images that made him feel sick. And the nightmares—no, thinking that way wasn't going to help him act like things were fine.

Apparently, the thoughts did just the opposite, for he was much more pale than normal.

After a long drawn out of silence, and an exchange of glances between the two initiators of the talk, Pepper pulled out the stool he was previously seated on and held out a hand to help him, "Here, sit down. You aren't supposed to be standing anyhow."

"His muscles protested in pain as he made an attempt at sitting on the—" Tony mumbled as he strained to sit down, wincing in the attempt.

Bruce quickly stepped in to help as well, shaking his head in rue, "Easy on the dramatics. You've already been stressing your muscles far more and you haven't been complaining."

"Well that's because I'm trying to spare you the extra burden of more remorse. I don't want to make you feel any worse," The billionaire did his best to explain in his usual joking way, "And by the way, this isn't fair. Gaining up on a crippled man isn't very nice, both you should know that."

Pepper rolled her eyes, trying her best to pull the conversation back to a serious tone, "We're serious, Tony. You can stop trying to hide—"

_Why do you have to be so damn smart? _"Trying to hide? Where'd you get that idea?" He replied, trying to chuckle best he could.

Bruce lightly touched the CEO's elbow, pulling her attention away for a moment. Nodding towards his friend, he said in a near whisper, "Maybe he wasn't consciously doing it… he probably can't remember."

"I'm not sure," Pepper bit her lip, taking a step towards the scientist and responding just as quietly, "He's been a bit off since..."

Dr. Banner nodded slowly, "Well, uh, yeah I guess. Should we show him the footage?"

Tony looked up at the two of them, furrowing his brows a bit. To say that he wasn't feeling slightly paranoid would be a lie. Crossing his arms, he looked a bit like a child, "I don't appreciate when I'm excluded from super-secret, serious discussions. And what footage? I'm not deaf, you know."

Pepper took a quick glance at the iron man before responding in an exasperated sigh, "I suppose so."

_Joy… _"Can we watch a good movie, please? I'm really sick of the movies Cap made me watch with him," He said a bit too loud, unsure of whatever they were talking about but not positive he wanted to see. But, really, how many times could people say the word "swell" in those black in white flicks? Apparently a lot.

Bruce gave a brisk nod before bringing down a screen and turning on a computer and searching through some documents. It was apparent he had been in the lab quite a lot and had learned all the technology pretty quickly. As the lights dimmed, he pulled a stool out for Pepper and then for himself, "This is the supervaliance taken when you first woke up, the day you were removed from the cave."

"Can we stop calling that place a cave? I don't believe it's geologically correct,"Tony murmured, looking at the screen turn on and begin the record. _Afghanistan; that was a cave. That tunnel thing was exactly that, just a tunnel. And yet both had _him _in them…_

Pepper simply put a hand on his knee, of which he placed his own on top of and held. And with that, it started.

. . .

_**"No...**__**No, no, no. Oh, god…"**_

_"Tony?"_

_**"You heard that, didn't you? You had to!"**_

_"Ms. Potts I—Oh…"_

_"What's going on?"_

_**"Let me out of here, now. Now! Please, just let me go...**__"_

"_Tony, calm down. You're going to hurt yourself."_

_**"He's going to come back, he'll kill both of you—Let me go, Bruce!"**_

_"You're legs are _broken_, Tony. Just stay calm, everything is fine."_

_**"N-no, no it isn't..."**_

. . .

JARVIS lit up the lab once again, revealing Tony grabbing Pepper's hand much tighter than he had initially. In fact, his knuckles were now white, and her hand seemed to be losing its feeling. As soon as he realized this, he let go immediately and pulled his hands together and drew them towards his abdomen in a protective position with the mumbling of an apology.

After that, a long spell of expectant quiet was spread thickly over the three people, two of which stared directly at the man in the middle. He could feel each look as if it was a real, tangible thing on his skin, forcing him to set up his internal walls up much higher. Whatever reaction they wanted from him was beyond any of his guessing, so he decided trying to keep his self from even expressing one.

Mind you, this was no easy task.

Everything he had been feeling through the whole week had been condensed and strengthened in that one clip, exposing everything. And still, it only managed to begin the churning in his gut once again, and make him feel as if every shadow in the room held something that was ready to tear him to pieces. Then there was the whole Yinsen thing that only added to the weight of whatever he was carrying on his shoulders and broken legs. And yet when all of these things were added together, it only left him with that horrible thing he pretended to never have: Fear.

It was consuming him without mercy now, and seemed to show no signs of relenting...

"Tony- Tony, you're pale," Bruce pointed out, about to reach for his medical records of his friends condition. Pepper stopped him with a glance.

She tried to catch her boss's stare, even as he avoided it and simply looked at the ground in front of him. Gently, she said, "We want to understand, we want to help you. The only way we can do that is if you tell us what happened, and I promise we won't-"

"No." It was the only word that the man could manage to get out of his lips steadily. It was too much. He wasn't going to let them see him like this, much less tell them anything about it.

"Tony we can't do anything if you keep us in the dark."

"I'm-I'm... sorry," The genius murmured, standing up much too quickly. As his body protested, he walked towards where he tossed the crutches earlier, before Pepper or Bruce could stop him. He just needed to get out, he couldn't stay in anyone's company for another moment, else risk cracking.

Of course it was only then that Steve decided to make his appearance, sticking his head in the door frame with a small smile, "Gents, ma'am, Thor has just arrived on the—" Of course he stopped speaking as soon as he read the expressions of those in the lab.

The Stark family members stood up, following him with words of protest, stopping once he started limping out the door with the support of the metal crutches and brushing past Captain America without bothering to even look at him. "Lock up when you leave," he called out as his voice seemed to falter once again. Tony Stark didn't mind though. He was too busy trying to escape from the monster that was always chasing him, and never would stop.

* * *

"_Those are YOUR weapons... in the hands of those murderers! Is this what you want? Is this what you wish the legacy of the great Tony Stark to be?"_

"I didn't—I-I don't… No. No, I don't. NO!"

The iron man lay alone in his bed, tossing from side to side. The twisted sheets tied him up and provided no escape, and the ever surrounding curtain of darkness imprisoned him. He was easy prey that was continuing to get attacked.

"_Hammer still has them, you know. He's using them! You're killing people right now. You're killing them, Stark."_

Tony continued to kick at the demons reaching for his legs, trying to pull him back into the cave, but only getting himself more entangled within his covers. Why couldn't he defend himself? Why did they keep returning?

"I'm trying to stop them! No, I—It's not MY fault! It isn't!"

"_Then how come there are people dying right now? Dying at the hands of Stark Industries!"_

Those monsters had a grip on him now, digging their claws into his flesh with a hunger for blood. He clutched the rock beneath him with his hands, fingers and nails, but they kept dragging him. Rolling and rolling closer to the pit of hell in the Midwest and Afghanistan. The voice, not Yinsen, started laughing, surrounding the walls with green smoke, a snake pulling him along as well.

"AHHHHHHH! STOP, PLEASE!" He screamed as loud as his lungs would permit. "I'M SORRY! I AM, YIN—"

And then suddenly, he was met with the familiar carpet of his bedroom floor.

Tony Stark was no longer being tortured by shadowy figures, but wrapped in the sheets wrapped in disarray around his legs and torso. His arc reactor's blue-tinted light glistened off of his sweat covered skin, revealing his pajamas and the quickly forming and old bruises that decorated his arms. The green numbers of his electric clock blinked to reveal it was 3:11 AM, the final touch to prove he was in the Tower, not… well, wherever he just was.

Tears were running down his cheeks, and he couldn't stop them. His whole body quivered uncontrollably, and there was nothing he could do. Silent sobs tore through his body, and they wouldn't relent. He was frozen, and it was terrifying.

He really should've sat up or gotten back into bed, but he found the feeling prickling the hair upon the back of his neck too strong to allow him to move. Even the promise of drinking himself senseless in the lab only a couple doors down wasn't enough to persuade him to do so (but then again, he'd probably do that later—when everyone moved out.) He just lay there, his body full of pain from the fall, trying to get a hold of himself.

Then suddenly, he heard footsteps pounding against the floor outside and rushing towards his room.

Tony's blood went cold and his heart skipped several beats. Was it him? The man who kept killing Pepper, Bruce, and Yinsen? Had he finally come to for him as well, to finish him for real?

The door opened tentatively, as if trying to prevent making any noise. It closed in a similar fashion, darkening the room completely once again. The feet that lightly fell on the carpet, crept towards his bed, and the iron man found his eyes shutting closed quite tightly. If the end was to come, he could only pray it was less painful than what had happened to him in his nightmares.

Perhaps that was why he was so surprised to find a familiar, delicate palm on his forehead, combing through his hair. He couldn't help but open his eyes to see.

_Pepper? No, I can't make her more worried than she already is—she doesn't deserve this. Please, just go Peps, please, _he thought in mild panic as she glanced down at his face. A part of him desperately wanted to tell her to leave, to spare her the weight and to spare himself the guilt. However, the other part seemed to be much stronger, preventing him from speaking.

The woman seemed to understand this, only shaking her head the slightest in sadness. Kneeling down next to him, she used her arms to help sit him up and then embrace him without a word.

Tony found it somewhere inside of him to hold her close as well, clutching the fabric of her t-shirt and burying his face in the crook of her shoulder and red hair. He forced his self not to let out another cry, and simply hold close to the love of his life, his rock, and his home.

The two held each other close for the rest of the night, braving it together, side by side. Pepper helped him back into bed without a word, and climbing in as well. They simply had to wait for the shadows to disappear off the walls, and pray for morning to come. Perhaps, then, things would get better. Or at least start on that path.

A god somewhere else had other plans though, of course.

* * *

**I'm so evil with my cliffhangers, yes, I know. Hope you enjoyed this long chapter ;) I know I enjoyed writing it!**

**Thank you for all the lovely reviews and for adding this story to your alert/favorites list to everyone who did. I really appreciate it.**

**So please, I'd love if you'd leave a review for me. Critique, comments... all welcome! Thank you in advance.**


	9. Chapter 9

_AN: Alright, I have to apologize to everyone for how slow I've been updating. I'm very, very sorry. You might have seen my note before on my profile explaining my disappearance, but if not, here's why it took so long: I'm in the process of writing an original, full-length novel. Yay! _

_Anyhow, updates will be few and far between, but I'll try and get one out for Christmas as a present to all my wonderful readers :) Btw, thank you to everyone who has reviewed and/or favorited/added this story to their alerts. You guys make my day! _

_Thank you for sticking with me through all this, and I hope you enjoy the chapter!_

* * *

**Chapter Nine**

**Just a Chill**

**. . .**

He loved to watch them run around like the mindless fools they were. All of them.

Seeing them absolutely terrified was oh so satisfying, and the way they cracked and crumpled was so very entertaining. He simply hung up a threat above their heads and instantly they all begun to get nervous. He made a move as to cut it, let it fall. They went numb with absolute fear. At any moment, if he so desired, he could let loose the threat and they would die. The power which came from that knowledge was stronger than any other.

They were the puppets; he, their master.

Down below, things were so unorganized. The spineless creatures (The ones who were aware, of course. The others would soon sorely regret that they had forgotten…) under S.H.E.I.L.D. scurried this way and that, pretending they would find him, telling the others things would be alright. How little they knew…

A structure built of separate parts was built to appear strong and intimidating. Its appearance was horribly misleading. But he wasn't the imbecile; he knew that the structure needed to be comprised of only one part. Relying on other factors, especially such weak ones, lead to an easy destruction, one much easier than one caused by taking them all on at once.

And that was exactly what he would do—pull each support away until the pitiful animals collapsed.

Being the master, he took pleasure in the knowledge that he could make any one of them suffer, depending on his inclination. All of them humiliated and wounded him; a mistake they would all learn to regret immensely.

He would make them beg.

The two assassins at first seemed like wonderful prey. The one with fiery hair—so many secrets, such a strong desire to be loved, such a craving for forgiveness, so scared of being uncovered… And of course, one couldn't forget the bowman. After the archer's service, he knew everything about him. It was clear the mortal was still scared of the things he saw and did.

Both of the lovers would be so fun to break; to have them turn on each other and then tear their selves apart for doing so…

The horrendous green giant would pay especially for what he had done to him as well. The puppet master was well aware of his past, and just like the fiery haired woman's, he knew how to slowly exploit it to make the monster/man of science try to end his life once again. That would be very enjoyable.

Then came the Captain, the leader. Crumpling him would be a delightful example. It would show the others exactly what would happen and weaken them considerably, no doubt. The Captain was lost, vulnerable, pining for a woman that he had let escape from him. He knew things such as that were very affective, and he longed to see such a proud, confident man break.

The puppet master's brother—no. He was an entirely different problem.

The man of iron, however, oh his arrogance enough was a strong enough reason to rein vengeance upon him. He was so cocky and full of himself, completely unaware that underneath the sorcery he had created, he was just a mere fool. Fools were so easy to manipulate.

But then the master peered into his mind, and was gleefully surprised to find a rather large amount of pain and fear, all locked away. Not to mention, there was also a strong sentimental attraction to a lovely woman, who also possessed orange hair. So much torture, suffering and guilt lay inside his head, so many memories…

The man of iron would be the first to fall.

So far, it had been pleasurably entertaining to pull the trigger and watch the pressure build. At last, though, cracks were beginning to take shape. All he needed now was a little push; something to start him on path to ultimate destruction.

He would make all of them watch. He would make the iron man plead for death. He would get his revenge.

Loki couldn't suppress a catlike grin from tugging at the corners of his lips.

* * *

When Tony's eyes opened once again, he was met with a near blinding white glow. It took him a long moment to realize it came from the windows of his bedroom, which JARVIS must've opened for some reason. A warm lay close to him and even without knowing what it was, it brought him instant comfort.

Soon, he was able to identify what—or rather who it was. His arms were wrapped around Pepper's skinny waist and her hands where on top of his, his face buried in her red hair. She had her back pressed up against his chest slightly, the arc reactor giving her t-shirt the effect of looking as if it was glowing. The billionaire's enjoyment of the closeness kept him from daring to move.

Something reassured him that things had to be alright at the moment, for he felt at peace (if only a little). Still, it was rather odd to see that he had waken up calmly, something he had almost forgotten was possible. Moments ago, he was simply sleeping, and all he saw was just darkness. It was almost too good to be true—and having Pepper by his side guaranteed that. It just had to be, right?

Alright, now he was officially a loon. Why? The whole "perfect-ness" of everything wasn't realistic. It would surely disappear and be replaced with something terrifying, wouldn't it? That seemed to be the pattern anyways.

The sensation he was so familiar with—panic—it returned without hesitation.

First, it started with his pulse, which then affected his breathing, and somehow, started to get his legs to pain him. (He _really _wanted painkiller. Falling out of the bed last night wasn't so forgiving to his broken limbs.)

"Sir, your heart pressure has increased t—" The AI's voice came over the speakers too loudly, even if his voice sounded concerned. And just like that, the moment was completely and totally shattered.

As Pepper made a confused and sleepy sounding noise, Tony sat up on one elbow. His voice gave away everything, "I know, JARVIS! I want a security scan of the whole building and vicinity, stat. Got it?"

The CEO turned over to look at her frantic boyfriend, worry etched all over her expression. "What's going on?"

"I believe you're being… um, unreasonable, sir," JARVIS informed him, almost _too_ human-like for a computerized butler. Why was it that this was the time the iron man began to notice?

Gripping the blankets closely with clammy fingers, Tony swiftly tried to take in the entire room as he spoke. "Just do it. Now."

"Of course, sir."

A thin, soft and warm hand rested on his arm. "Tony, look at me. Please—deep breaths. Tony, calm down, it's alright." Pepper's blue orbs were staring up into his own, widened with alarm that she was trying to conceal, herself. The worry was for his own sake, he knew it. He hated making her all distraught for his sake.

Trying to prevent her from doing so, the genius did as he was instructed to. _In through the nose, out through the mouth—or is it vice versa? Does it matter? No, shut up. Just get that look off her face, do it for her… _

"I have found no threats, sir. The entire building is either sleeping, guarded, or both. Our systems are clear as well. There is no cause for alarm," JARVIS promptly interrupted his actual attempts at breathing correctly, the distraction being enough to snap his concentration.

Then suddenly, he lost all the control he was trying to hold; over his mind, body and voice. Something had to be wrong. It just _had _to. He wasn't safe anymore, but more importantly, Pepper wasn't safe.

_Something _had to be wrong.

"YES THERE IS!" Tony shouted up at the speakers, breaking away from Pepper's soothing touch in order to wildly glance around. His chest was rising and falling again, his hands clenching into fists. "THERE… there has to be…"

Ice suddenly shot up the base of his spine to the nape of his neck. Something sliced through his thoughts, something that made him shudder violently. _"You'll never be able to find me. But I'm here. I'm coming…"_

It was the voice. It had never left.

"TONY! Tony, calm down!" Pepper's voice had risen, just as his. No sooner as she had spoken then her gentle arms pulled the man into a tight embrace, one hand stroking through his hair tenderly. She rocked him back and forth, for he had let his body go completely slack. "Shhhh… Shhh… It's ok. It's alright, Tony."

Shaking his head, he withdrew from the hug and took her smaller hands within his larger, calloused ones. Still breathing ragged breaths, the billionaire pressed his forehead to the red head's. In an uncharacteristically rattled voice, he looked right into her eyes, "You keep saying that, but it really isn't. I know you don't mean it, but… Oh God, things are anything but alright."

"I don't understand," The Stark Industry's CEO bit her lower lip, looking as if she desperately wished she did.

"I'm—I'm crazy, Peps." Though he had said something similar many times before, it never was so serious, so scared. "I'm nuts, bonkers, insane, mad, _cracked_…" His words decreased in volume until they were less than a whisper.

Her brows lowered in growing trouble, "What happened down there, Tony? In the cave—"

"It's not a cave," Tony corrected as if on reflex.

"It doesn't matter. What happened?" Pepper persisted, her voice some combination of comforting and commanding.

He leaned in closer, fingers shaking but continuing to cling to his girlfriend's. His volume dropped, but his intensity gathered considerably. Then, just like every performance he had ever seen of an actor at the beginning of a horror movie, he said between trembling breaths, "There was a voice there—when I was awake, in my dreams, and even now. _Just now_, Peps! It did horrible things to you… to Yinsen, to me…"

Yes, it sounded just as mental out loud as he thought it would. Perhaps more.

Her lips parted slightly. As his words sunk in through the thick air, she only blinked. It was clear that she was trying to find for the proper thing to say as she searched his face. He found he couldn't really blame her for her reaction, though.

At long last, she said something. "We'll… we'll get Bruce to… just make sure everything's alright," Pepper said in the most reassuring voice she could draw up. Pulling a hand away to put upon the man's shoulder, she continued, "I'm sure it's just in your head—post traumatic stress or something, right? I didn't hear anything, and JARVIS said there weren't any threats to worry about."

"No, it doesn't make sense. It isn't _my _thoughts—I don't know how I know that, but I'm certain of it…" He murmured, bringing his head to rest on her shoulder.

The woman rubbed circles on his back slowly, hugging him again with her free arm. "Um… um, just try to calm down for me, alright? I'm sure getting all upset like this isn't good for your recovery—"

"Screw recovery…" He mumbled into her T-shirt.

"You won't say that when you want to go back in the suit," she pointed out briefly before returning to what she was saying. "Besides, Agent Barton, Natalie—I mean Agent Romanoff, Steve, Bruce—they're all here to protect us. They'll help you, I'm sure."

"_We both know that they won't be able to do anything to stand in my way…" _

Tony immediately stiffened, each word hitting him with a blow. There was no escaping, was there?

Pepper felt this, he could tell, as well as the way his grasp around her waist tightened, and the way he took a sharp intake of breath. She didn't say anything, though. Trying to remain steady, she continued to stroke his hair and rub his back, hushing him tenderly. And the billionaire let her.

After a long moment, Tony's body began to slouch, and his hold loosened.

The CEO felt an unnatural chill blow through the room as she turned her head up to the speakers on the ceiling. "Um, JARVIS?" She called out softly, not to wake the sleeping iron man.

The AI seemed to understand, "Yes, Ms. Potts?"

"Contact Bruce, please?"

"Right away, Ms. Potts."

"And could you up the temperature in the room please?"

"The temperature has remained constant this whole time, Ms. Potts."

* * *

**Again, updates will be very slow. My apologies. But expect one for Christmas, if not sooner. **

**You know how you could make me update sooner? If you could just leave a review, perhaps...? That would make me very happy. Thank you in advance! **

**Back to writing my real novel, haha... Bye! :)**


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